Growing up in a military family, Kacey Proctor always has felt a sense of duty about serving his country.
As a member of the Missouri Army National Guard, Proctor recently was told he will deploy this fall to the Middle East, where he is expected to serve for a year.
"I always wanted to serve my country," Proctor said. " ... Growing up with my grandfather having been a Marine, and my dad having been a Marine, I always heard stories about boot camp and their time in the military."
Hearing those stories "had a huge impact on me wanting to serve (but) I think the biggest contributing factor was 9/11," Proctor said. "My upbringing made it a bit more natural for me to go in that direction."
Proctor described himself as being in the "generation that was in high school during 9/11."
On Sept. 11, 2001, the then Poplar Bluff junior remembers he was sitting out in the hallway.
"I was actually in psychology class at that time," but was taking a makeup test after having had knee surgery just days before, said Proctor, who indicated he had torn his ACL while playing football.
"I was recovering from knee surgery when 9/11 happened, then I had another incident with my knee before graduation," Proctor explained.
At the time Proctor graduated high school and "all my friends were joining up and going," he said, military service was not an option.
"I obviously couldn't at that time; I haven't been to Iraq; I didn't go to Afghanistan, but I have a lot of friends who did ...," he said.
After 9/11, Proctor said, he thinks "everybody wanted to do something," such as the reserves or National Guard, and "a lot of people did. I'm very thankful" they did.
Proctor said he did talk to recruiters, but due to the condition of his knee, "they didn't think I could get in, so I went to college."
By going to college, Proctor said, he became the first family member to do so.
"My grandfather, who was a Marine, was really pushing me to go to college (and) was really proud of what I was doing," Proctor said. "My whole family was really proud of me going to college.'
After starting college, Proctor said, he wanted to finish what he started.
"Then, I got suckered into law school," he said. "Even going to law school, I still wanted to serve my country."
As Proctor neared the end of law school, he said, he began applying to officer candidate school, with the intent of joining the Army and becoming an officer.
"Ultimately, I ended up getting accepted to OCS and joining the National Guard" in early 2013, said Proctor, who also serves as an assistant Ripley County prosecutor and Poplar Bluff city prosecutor.
After receiving his commission with the National Guard, Proctor said, he was assigned to the 1140th Engineer Battalion at Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Then, Proctor said, he went to Fort Leonard Wood, where he attended the Engineer Basic Officer Leaders Course, and upon graduating from it, he was assigned to the 1138th Engineer Company Sapper, a light-combat engineer unit, located in Farmington, Mo.
A first lieutenant, Proctor said, he was a platoon leader with the unit for more than two years.
During his tenure, Proctor said, he was activated for state emergency duty due to flooding in December 2015/January 2016.
Interstate 55 in the St. Louis, Mo., area was flooded, and "at one point, I was in charge of about 11 soldiers who were on I-55 sandbagging and pumping water off I-55," he said.
Although he initially worked as a volunteer when flooding hit the Poplar Bluff area in late April, Proctor was later called to duty.
During his tenure with the unit, Proctor said, the 1138th was in its "ready year" to deploy while Proctor was a team leader, but his time to deploy with that unit came and went.
"Right there at the end of my tenure as a platoon leader, they were going to have to make a change ... move me somewhere," said Proctor, who, as of May 1, is now a member of the 35th Engineer Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood.
"I actually found out during flood duty when Col. (Anthony) Adrain, brigade commander, actually came to Poplar Bluff," Proctor said. "I met him and found out for sure that I would be transferring ..."
Proctor said he initially was called and told the 35th Engineer Brigade would be deploying, and he was on the "short list" to deploy.
At the time Proctor got that call he was having lunch with his wife, who at the time was six months pregnant.
"She got to see me get that phone call ... that was an interesting conversation," said Proctor, who was given a choice about going.
Having watched his friends previously deploy, "I felt like it was my obligation to go ahead and deploy with" the brigade, Proctor said.
When he deploys, Proctor said, he will be filling a captain's slot and will serve as a brigade tactile officer.
Proctor said he is looking forward to his impending deployment, which will give him a chance to use the skills he earned and learned.
"When you're in the military, you train and train and train and train; it's nice to finally be able to go and use the training you've got and actually really do your job," Proctor said.
At the same time, Proctor said, he will miss his family.
"I feel sorry for my wife," said Proctor, who again will miss being with his infant son.
Proctor missed eight weeks of his wife's first pregnancy while in OCS and then six months of his son's infancy while he attended training at Fort Leonard Wood.
"That's not unique," said Proctor, who indicated his first platoon sergeant missed the birth of three children during each of his deployments.
"I'm just glad I was here when my first son was born; I'll be here when my second son is born," said Proctor, whose son was born after his interview.